


Entertaining Children

by Kurakynr



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: 1180, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Entertaining Children, Fluff, Gen, Glenn Fraldarius Lives, Glenn Fraldarius is Robin, Robin is Glenn Fraldarius, Robin!Glenn, Valm War Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23121076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurakynr/pseuds/Kurakynr
Summary: Robin has to look after six toddlers and decides the best way to entertain them is with black magic.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	Entertaining Children

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Tactician of the Azure Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22143604) by [UnknownHorizom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownHorizom/pseuds/UnknownHorizom). 



> Canonically Glenn’s body was never found, just his sword and armor. And white hair does seem to be a pretty common side effect of crest experimentation. And getting turned into the Vessel of the Fell Dragon Grima is close enough, right?
> 
> And Robin’s a canon amnesiac.
> 
> AKA: Robin is Glenn Fraldarius, or at least he used to be.
> 
> _1180, Great Tree Moon_

Robin is in the royal library brushing up on Valmese geography when Miriel finds him. He looks up and sees a one year old in her arms and a gaggle of surprisingly quiet two and three year olds surrounding her. He wonders how the mage managed that as he closes and sets aside his book. He’ll read it another time.

She was supposed to watch the Shepherds’ present day (and wasn’t that a qualifier he was still getting used to using) children today, Miriel explains, but something urgent has come up with the war preparations with the mages that she has to leave to attend to. So Robin’s going to have to watch them for her because the only other person who can is _Tharja_. To make sure the mage understands he’s only doing this because _Tharja_ , Robin gives an exaggerated sigh and slumps in his seat _just_ long to annoy but not irritate Miriel. Then the tactician pops to his feet and gently scoops Cynthia into his arms.

Already mentally reshuffling his schedule and work for the day, Robin asks how long she needs him to watch them for. Till early evening, the mage tells him, brushing some white hair off her robes. She turns around and asks if there is any on the back of her clothes. There isn’t, he shakes his head. Miriel thanks him and leaves. 

Robin thinks he hears her muttering something about Henry having casted some kind of hair growth hex on his daughter. How that can be the only explanation for a baby having such a full head of hair despite constantly seeming to shed it everywhere. Which is something Robin certainly wouldn’t put past Henry, but Henry is eccentric, not irresponsible so the tactician isn’t particularly concerned. Dismissing that train of thought, Robin turns his attention to the six children now in his care. 

Little Cynthia is cradled in his arms. She’s reaching up for his hair, but she can’t reach it—unlike her father, Robin has short hair. Three year old Gerome has sat down and seems content to entertain himself playing with a stuffed wyvern. Three year old Laurent has a discarded picture book on the floor next to him and is pretending to read a thick tome about Fodlan gardening techniques. Two and a half year old Owain and Severa have a plush pegasus the toddlers look on the verge of fighting over (the toy is probably Severa’s since it’s white, Robin knows Owain doesn't own any black pegasi). And almost three and a half year old Lucina is trying to boss them all around into playing a game she wants to play. 

He gives himself maybe three minutes until utter pandemonium breaks out. Robin closes his eyes and sigh (genuinely this time). He’s always happy to interrupt his work and spend time with _his_ kid, but right now Robin is tired, stressed, overworked, and in no mood to deal with a flock of children when he should be researching every scrap of information the royal library has on Valm. Knowing the exact rock composition of Valm’s mountains could be vital if he ever needs to set off or avoid an rock avalanche. Still, he refuses to let his ire show to the kids. Instead Robin puts his irritation in a box and sets that box to the side. He grins widely and asks the kids if they want him teach Gerome’s wyvern and _Severa’s_ pegasus to fly? 

The answer is an overwhelming yes and Robin is now the center of the children’s attention. The tactician calls for the palace guards to bring him a cradle so he can put Cynthia down. It only takes the guards a few minutes to retrieve one. In the meantime, Robin fills the time by pretending to lecture the two toys about flying in a suitably dramatic and silly fashion much to the glee of his audience. 

Once the cradle arrives and Cynthia is out of his arms the show really begins. A flurry of meaningless hand gestures and a string of nonsense words and Robin’s actually starting to have some fun. He has the plush pegasus and stuffed wyvern soaring above the children’s heads with a flick of his hand and a whispered word of _Wind_. The gaggle of children clapping—fascinated and delighted by the display of magic. 

(Owain and Lucina look a bit less impressed than the rest. They’ve seen Robin pulls similar magical stunts often enough around the castle for them to know the toys aren’t flying by their own power, but it’s still an enchanting illusion.) 

Feeling daring and egged on by the children’s awe, Robin asks if there is anything else they want him to teach to fly. He smirks mischievously and puts the tips of his fingers together in a facsimile of a clap—carefully avoiding bringing his palms together and risk disrupting the small Wind array floating and carefully contained just above the surface of his left palm. 

Miriel would probably scold him if she knew he is using black magic to entertain toddlers. He knows she will later when she hears about this from Laurent, but more out of the general principle of casting combat magic as a party trick around children than concern for their safety. Robin is an unnatural magical _prodigy_. Black magic (and it’s darker variants) comes to Robin like breathing. The energy is eager to serve him and twists and shapes itself to his whim and will with ease. His power and control is unparalleled. Owain, Lucina, Cynthia, Severa, Gerome, and Laurent are perfectly safe. 

Not that Robin would risk casting anything higher than an E-Rank spell to entertain them. Gifted in the dark arts he might be, but his talent does not extend to white magic. The opposite really. Sure, Robin could manage a low level Heal in a pinch, but it was a patch job at best and one that often left his patient in a not inconsiderable amount of pain. A side effect of being Grima’s Vessel they think, his own personal magic is so intermingled with the Fell Dragon to the point the two are practically the same. And fell magic is not a fun thing to introduce to a human body. 

Robin’s smile slips slightly at the unpleasant thought as the children begin running (or toddling) around the library, bringing back books of all shapes and sizes for him to add to the overhead whirlwind. The tactician pushes thoughts of Grima out of his mind in favor of focusing on the magic. It’s an considerable exercise in control to keep everything in the air and from colliding with anything. But the kids like it so Robin figures still it’s worth the extra effort. 

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m going to have to go back and recon a few things timeline wise. But I’ve worked out the general gist of it and decided that the present kids exist. Mainly because I have this adorable mental picture of little Owain and Rodrigue interacting I want to eventually write. Rodrigue might even be meeting his grandson before he meets Robin.
> 
> I think the next drabble will ether be about the investigation or early Robin finding his place with the shepherds. Depends on which I finish first.
> 
> And since this might not come up for a while, Owain does have a _minor_ Fraldarius Crest.


End file.
